EARLY AUTUMN COLOUR: Why fade to brown when a virtual round-the-world trip can bring high-summer glamour to the September garden. Plant in a sunny, sheltered spot.
SOUTH AFRICA: For splashy blooms, it’s hard to beat Kniphofia rooperi, Nerine bowdenii and Crocosmia 'Emily Mackenzie’. Protect young plants with deep dry mulch over winter.
SOUTH AMERICA AND ASIA
Cut back hardy fuchsia to 18in (45cm) in late autumn after flowering and mulch new plants with bark. The climber 'Lady Boothby’ can scramble up to 10ft (3m); for hedges, try 'Mrs Popple’ and 'Riccartonii’.
NORTH AMERICA
The Californian lilac Ceanothus 'Autumnal Blue’ bears heavy swags of flowers, while Callicarpa bodinieri var giraldii 'Profusion’ amazes with its fizz of Opal-Fruit-purple berries.
GALLERY OF… SPRING BULBS
A beautiful flower catches the eye all the more at a time when there are fewer distractions in the garden. So jazzing up your spring bulb collection is a fail-safe way to outdo horticultural rivals.